Local stamp sale support for the COVID-weakened Postal Service

More and more Americans find themselves buying stamps and stockpiling them in support of the financially struggling U.S. Postal Service (USPS).

The coronavirus has had a direct impact on first-class mail.

“The estimate is we’re facing $35 billion in lost revenue due to the virus,” said Michael Birkett, St. Louis-based Region 5 national business agent for the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC), responsible for Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas.

“It’s truly humbling to think people think enough of their letter carriers to purchase stamps in our time of fiscal distress,” Birkett added.

In a 2019 survey by the Pew Research Center, 90% of respondents had a favorable view of the agency that delivers mail to 190 million addresses six days a week.

According to Pew, the Postal Service is better regarded than the National Park Service, NASA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Polls by the Gallup organization also listed the Postal Service as the No. 1 federal agency in 2014 and 2017, the only two occasions Gallup has conducted a survey of public attitudes toward government agencies in recent years.

Included in the $2.2 trillion stimulus package approved by Congress in March was a $10 billion loan to USPS, according to the Washington Post.

The loan, according to the Post, gives cash-strapped USPS enough funds to meet payroll and general operations until spring 2021.

The postal agency’s request for a massive $50 billion cash infusion did not win the support of either Congress or the White House.

“It is simply crazy to see cruise lines getting bailed out, the stock market getting helped and the post office is struggling,” said Ashley Roney, 31, of Cape Girardeau.

“It would help the Postal Service if everybody started buying stamps,” added Roney, a Realtor.

“I send personal notes to my clients, sometimes 10 to 20 at a time,” she said.

Roney and her family bought stamps online at usps.com recently.

“We would have ordered even more had I realized the situation,” Roney said. “Everybody should be doing this.”

“The idea of buying stamps is so simple and perfect,” said Carol Dawson, 91, of Cape Girardeau, who ordered two booklets of Earth Day stamps Thursday.

“I’ve always appreciated the post office,” she said.

“Congress seems to be doing everything it can to get rid of it.”

Mark Inglett, USPS spokesman, said he is “super pleased” by increased online stamp purchases, although specific sales totals were not available at press time.

“We have had to put on extra staff to handle the volume,” Inglett added, noting Southeast Missouri is serviced by a “stamp fulfillment center” in Kansas City.

NALC’s Birkett, who has worked for the postal agency 36 years, said USPS has had a significant jump in delivering parcels.

“Amazon, United Parcel and Federal Express pay us to take parcels to what we call ‘the last mile’,” Birkett said.

“It doesn’t pay those private companies to take parcels into remote areas, so they pay us to do it,” he said.

USPS personnel pick up privately shipped parcels at Menards, near the postal distribution center in Cape Girardeau.

“Then we take it the rest of the way because we’re delivering mail to rural addresses anyway,” Birkett said.

The increased parcel business is helpful, Birkett said, but not nearly enough to make up for the decline in “flats,” referring to regular mail volume.

“In some places in my region, we’re down 50% in first-class mail,” Birkett said.

“I have a drawing from my (out-of-town) grandson sent through the mail,” said Valerie Williams, 73, of Cape Girardeau.

“I have cards, keepsakes, from many years back,” she said.

“I can pull them out and hold them in my hand, which you can’t do with an email or texting.”

Birkett said he is grateful for the support of customers but is a little skeptical the help will be quite enough.

“I have no idea if buying more stamps will make the math turn out right,” Birkett said.

“No tax money is spent on us and we’re expected to basically live off stamp sales. It’s tough,” he added.